Truly Love
by rejectdemon
Summary: When Zero goes to a vampire soirée with Yagari, he sees Yuuki there with Kaname. He loves her, but doesn't know what to do...


Zero closed his eyes and tried to block out the scene before him. The pure bloods and aristocrats danced around him, taking no notice of the lesser vampire. Their arrogance and narcissism had always irked him, but tonight something else took his full attention.

Across the room, Zero caught sight of two people he never thought he would see again, HOPED he would never see again.

Kaname danced with Yuuki with such poise and gentility, his eyes never leaving her face. A small smile graced his beautiful face. Yuuki was staring back at Kaname, her eyes glittering with what Zero assumed was love.

It was then when Zero looked away. It had been nearly two years since he had left Cross Academy, and he had hoped he would never see anyone from the Night Class, let alone Kaname and Yuuki.

When he left, Zero had rejoined Yagari and been assisting him. They had come to this ball in order to keep tabs on another pure blood. But Zero completely forgot the mission.

Kaname and Yuuki were dancing closer and closer to him. Kaname caught his eye once. His smile broadened. The smile said, "I've won, you've lost."

Yuuki then glanced his way. Zero saw her eyes widen at the sight of her former best friend, and he could take it no longer. Zero turned on his heal and drifted through the crowd of vampires. They paid him no mind, and kept dancing and chatting to themselves. He thought he heard Yuki's voice behind him, calling his name, but he knew he must have been mistaken. Never the less, Zero quickened his pace.

He briskly walked past his master, who eyed him curiously. I suppose I'll have to fill him in later, he thought begrudgingly. Zero strode beneath the arched doorway that led out into the wide hallway. To the left of the doorway, a small balcony stuck off the side of the building. That's where Zero walked over to.

Zero leaned on the side of the balcony, letting the crisp night air wash over him. He looked down into the garden below. In the centre, there was a small pool of water, and a fountain gurgling in the middle. Surrounding the fountain, there were many arrays of flowers growing. Zero noticed most of the flowers were different varieties of roses. Near the fountain, trees lined a narrow path. The path led to a lake, which was part of the estate. The whole area was quite beautiful.

Zero heard a few voices below him, a sign that a few vampires had also chosen to step outside. Closing his eyes again, he cursed to himself. At that moment, this was the place he least wanted to be. In some decorous pure blood estate, in the same building with that one person he had sworn to forget. The one person he tried to let go of…

"Zero?"

Zero's eyes popped open and he turned around. As if she had been reading his thoughts, Yuuki stood before him.

She looked breath taking. Yuuki wore a lovely, sleeveless lavender gown, her hair pulled back slightly by a matching violet hair clip with a tiny flower on it. She had grown a few inches since Zero had last seen her, but it made little difference to her height. She was still as beautiful as Zero remembered, if not more. But he felt he had to look away. He had given up that right. He had given her up.

"Zero, it is you!" Yuuki exclaimed, running towards him. She hugged him warmly, and Zero found himself embracing her back."Yuuki," he mumbled. "How are you?"

Yuuki let go of him and faced him, forcing Zero to meet her eyes. They shone with joy and something Zero could not recognize.

"I'm quite well," said Yuuki, averting her gaze. Her eyes had dropped to her left hand. A large diamond engagement ring glittered on her finger. "Kaname proposed."

There was an awkward silence that hung in the air after that. Zero then cleared his throat. "I hope you two will be very happy together. Does he plan to..." Zero paused.

"Turn me into a vampire? In time, I suppose..." Yuuki started, trailing off. There seemed to be something on her mind, something she was fighting with herself to say.

Zero stepped around her. "I'm here with my master and he will be wondering where I am. It was great to see you." He turned to leave. It gave him an eerie feeling of deja vu that made him grip the balcony doors for support. It reminded him of the day he left Cross Academy...

_Zero sat beneath a tree, letting himself doze off. He heard someone approach and opened his eyes, hoping to see Yuuki. Instead, Kaname stood there, his face expressionless._

_"Kiryuu-kun," Kaname said. "May I have a word?"_

_Zero nodded._

_Kaname stepped closer to Zero. "Kiryuu-kun, you and I haven't always been on the best terms. We both know why."_

_Zero glared at him out of the corner of his eye. Of course we're not on best terms, he thought. You think Yuuki should belong to you._

_"What do you want Kuran-san?" Zero said gruffly._

_"To be blunt, I want one thing," Kaname said, crossing his arms. "You out of Yuuki's life."_

_Zero stood up, facing the pure blood. "I'll be here as long as Yuuki wants me to be. And if it's her wish for me to leave, I will. If she tells me so."_

_Kaname chuckled. "I thought you'd be difficult. So I'll throw in something for you to make it worth your while. If you leave and don't return for five years-"_

_"Five years? How can you expect me to just up and leave with no where to go for five years?"_

_"If you keep your side of the bargain, I will give you the secret of how to prevent your becoming a Level E." Kaname finished._

_Zero thought about what he had said. "How do I know if your lying or not?"_

_"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not," Kaname said. "If I choose, I will force you to leave anyway. I'm giving you an opportunity to save yourself. And if you were smart, you would take it. I know Yuuki would want you to save yourself."_

_Zero closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll take your offer."_

Zero was brought back to reality by an odd sound coming from behind him. He turned back to face the balcony.

Yuuki stared at him, tears running down her face. "That's all you have to say? 'I hope you two will be very happy together'? You left without a trace, without even saying good bye." She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

"I thought something bad had happened, I thought you died. I knew you would never just abandon me, so I assumed something terrible had become of you. But I was wrong. And to think, many a night I cried myself to sleep thinking of-"

"I never abandoned you!" exclaimed Zero, slamming the balcony doors shut and striding back over to her. "How could you be abandoned? You always had your precious Kuran-sama!"

"Is that what this is all about?" Yuuki said, anger rising in her voice. "I know you and Kaname-senpai never liked each other much, but you didn't have to leave! I need you, Zero!"

Zero grabbed her wrists. Yuuki tried to pull out of his grip, but was unsuccessful. "Yuuki, stop it! Quit saying these things! What do you need me for when you have Kaname? It was always Kaname. You never..."

Zero abruptly turned away from her and held his head in his hands. He couldn't face her. For two years, he had tried to forget her, tried to convince himself she was meant to be with Kaname-sama, but he couldn't do it. She was always there in his mind.

This time, Yuuki grabbed Zero's wrist. "Zero, for once in your life, say what you mean!"

Zero turned back to look at her. Then he took her face in his hands and gently kissed her. But he quickly pulled back, not wanting to upset her.

"I just want you to know how I feel. I've always loved you, Yuuki. From the first time I saw you, and you helped me after my parents were killed. I don't think I could've survived all this time without you. And everyday I was apart from you, it was torture."

Yuuki looked up at him, surprise in her eyes. "Oh, Zero," she said, leaning her head on his chest. Zero closed his eyes, enjoying the closeness of her. But deep inside him, there was sorrow. She's getting married, he thought. I was so stupid to leave. I should have stayed and fought for her.

Suddenly, Yuuki looked up at him and kissed him, catching him completely off guard. Then she took his hand and whispered in his ear, "I love you, too, Zero. But there's no way I can leave him now. He's one of the most powerful vampires in the world. He'll always find me."

Zero nuzzled her neck as if he were going to drink her blood. "Let's run away then. Yuuki, I die when I see you with him and I can't live without you. I know he would never hurt you, and I don't care what he does to me. Just say you'll do it, that you'll go with me. Please..." He whispered softly.

She stared into his eyes. Unlike before, Yuuki was able to read the emotions there. He no longer tried to block her out as he had before and suddenly everything made sense to her...

"I will," She said. "I don't want to be anywhere else but at your side."

Behind them, a figure started clapping slowly. Neither Zero or Yuuki had noticed the balcony doors open or the figure enter.

Kaname watched the two of them, his face entirely unreadable. "You do not take orders well, Kiryuu. I told you five years, no less. If It only took two years to set everything up without you, I would have said so," Kaname said, disdain etched slightly in his voice.

"And you, Yuuki," He said, tender anguish replacing his scorn. "I thought everything would be fine if he left but I was obviously mistaken."

Zero was sure Yuuki would then leave his arms and go over to Kaname, but she did not.

"I'm sorry, Kaname-senpai, " Yuuki said. "But I don't think I would have been a good wife. There are plenty of pure blood women who-"

"No, Yuuki, you wouldn't have been. You can't do anything your told, and that can be a problem" Kaname said. Yuuki stiffened at his words. "But it's that free spirit I love about you. And I'm sure Kiryuu-kun feels the same." Kaname took a step towards them. The doors flung shut behind him of their own accord. "Unfortunately for you though, Kiryuu, my pride cannot allow you to take Yuuki away from me."

Yuuki must have known something Zero didn't, because she turned to Zero and shouted, "Jump!" She grabbed Zero's hand and the two of them hurled themselves over the balcony edge. Zero wrapped his arms around Yuuki protectively and they fell into the fountain below.

Zero glanced up at the balcony from which they just toppled from and saw Kaname glaring down at him. Yuuki grabbed Zero's arm and dragged him out of the water. They started running down the trail towards the lake, and despite the fact that he probably running for his life, Zero laughed.

All Zero currently cared about was the girl holding tight to his hand, holding it in a manner that gave the impression that if she were to let go, she would fall off the edge of the planet.

Yuuki looked at him curiously, and she too started to laugh. Zero then tripped on a root and the two of them tumbled to the ground, and by then they were in hysterics. For a few moments they just lay there on the ground, Yuuki in Zero's arms. Then Yuuki stood up, hauling Zero to his feet.

"Kaname-sama has gotten much more powerful since you left. I'm sure he's probably watching us, waiting to strike you down," Yuuki said. "But he would have to go through me first." She kissed Zero on the cheek.

Zero smiled, in turn making Yuuki smile. "I like it when you smile. You should do it more often."

Zero kissed the top of her head. "I'll be sure to do that. I'll make sure l smile for you everyday."

The two of them then walked to the lake shore, hand in hand.

He looked at the moon, which hovered brightly over the water. For the first time since his parent's death all those years ago, Zero finally felt happy. But it wasn't just happiness, it was something more, something stronger.

Something Zero could feel truly was love.


End file.
